I really liked this graphic. I especially liked the comparison to the some of the more traditional learning theories. The idea of distributed knowledge is really powerful. Learners must figure out how to interpret, assimilate, organize, and manage all of the knowledge across a number of different inputs. Thanks for sharing!

In this article, King (2016) outlines the key characteristics of a successful community of practice (CoP). The features include a clear focus, active learning, collective ownership, appropriate mix, commitment, and structure. This particular article is tracking the evolution of a set of communities, managed by Learning Forward, dedicated to solving a specific problem within the educational community. Interestingly, these CoPs include members and participants from all areas - not just the educational sphere - as appropriate. It is clear that without a clear vision and a set of governing principles, it is difficult for these communities to be particularly effective. The article is a nice case study in the practicalities of CoPs.

In this excerpt from the Learning Forward publication, Powerful Designs for Professional Learning, the author provides a helpful overview of the presence and role of social media in the context of professional learning opportunities. The article presents the idea of the "Networked Teacher" and how educators can leverage tools like microblogging, PLNs, chats, Twitter, and more to create a more cohesive approach to professional learning. The excerpt also does a nice job of discussing the advantages of connectivism and its impact on learning.

https://learningforward.org/docs/default-source/docs/powerful-designs-chapter20-social-media.pdf

This blog post, written by Urbano Reviglio, provides a nice overview of connectivism and how it relates to learning in today's world. His summary of Siemens' original work on connectivism is incredibly helpful. Like Siemens, Reviglio illustrates the need for a new way to think about learning given the rapidly changing nature of knowledge in today's technology-rich world. As summarized by Reviglio, Siemens asserts that knowledge is distributed and that, as learners, we must work to aggregate, organize, and manage the knowledge from a wide network of sources.

This is a really helpful summary of the big points of connectivism.

https://theteknologist.wordpress.com/2017/08/27/connectivism-how-to-better-understand-learning-in-the-digital-age/

In this article, Chattopadhyay (2016) discusses the advantages of utilizing a PLN to participate in lifelong learning and professional growth. Perhaps the most notable part of the article is the reference to the work of Harold Jarche in which he outlines the steps for participating in a PLN. These steps include the following: explore, collect, review, recreate, and share.

https://elearningindustry.com/build-personal-learning-networks

The article is an analysis of a larger qualitative study examining teachers' use of digital tools and PLNs to engage in self-directed and self-initiated professional learning. Tour (2017) defines a PLN as "informal networks of teachers who interact online for professional purposes" (p. 11).

Tour Identified attributes of the learning that made this forum of learning more appealing to teachers. These attributes include the following: social, personalized, active and reciprocal, ongoing, and blended. The article also does a nice job of illustrating and describing how the teachers engage with their respective PLNs.

Resource:

Tour, E. (2017). Teachers' personal learning networks (PLNs): Exploring the nature of self-initiated professional learning online. Literacy, 51(1), p. 11 - 18.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/lit.12101

In this article, Sheninger (2014) identifies seven pillars of effective digital leadership in today's schools. While it is not specifically focused on PLNs, one of the pillars is related to professional development and the use of PLNs as a mechanism for providing just-in-time, relevant, and informal professional learning opportunities for teachers. It is an interesting read, overall, because it identifies some of the things that innovative leaders need to take into consideration in their buildings.

http://www.leadered.com/pdf/LeadingintheDigitalAge_11.14.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx5VHpaW8sQ

In this video, Dr. Siemens provides a brief overview of the topic of connectivism. Siemens asserts that knowledge is a networked product, meaning that it is the result of networking on three different levels. First, biologically, knowledge is a result of the neural networks that we create. Second, knowledge emerges as a result of conceptual connections in which learners connect new information to what is already known to deepen understanding and comprehension of a given topic. Finally, Siemens suggests that knowledge is a result of learning through external spaces such as a social networks or collaborative learning experiences. At all levels, knowledge building a complex, connected social process.

http://www.kstoolkit.org/Communities+of+Practice

This wikispace provides a comprehensive overview of Communities of Practice. There are several links and connected resources that provide background and research on the theoretical aspects of CoPs. There are also several great "getting started" types of resources.

The most helpful piece that I found on this page is the infographic that outlines some of the key characteristics of an effective CoP. It's a quick and easy visual overview.

This PLN overview video provides a brief definition of PLNs and some ideas for getting started.

https://youtu.be/Ju54C5A3RCw

The video was helpful, but I also found the connected blog post to be a great resource.


You can find that here:

https://www.commonsense.org/education/blog/from-pln-to-practice-tips-from-5-educators-on-personalizing-your-professional-learning

The blog post is set up as a forum or interview with a number of Twitter thought leaders. It goes on to provide a bit more context and information about the value of a PLN.

http://www.innovativelearning.com/teaching/communities_of_practice.html

This webpage provides a helpful overview of Communities of Practice and the distinctions between CoPs and teams. It also provides a nice bibliography that references the original research and theories. I found this to be a really helpful, high level overview.

This is such a great resource. Have you seen Tween Tribune from the Smithsonian? They have a similar concept though the content coverage is a bit more limited. That being said, it's also totally free. Just another option for more text in the classroom.

Thanks for sharing!

This is one of my favorite places to get timely (and free) informational text pieces to use with younger readers. Much like NewsELA, the site gives teachers the flexibility to adjust the Lexile levels of the text selections to meet the needs of students in the class.

https://www.tweentribune.com/category/junior/